What Time Is It?

Improvising on piano is really quite simple…. You just push down one note, then another, then another, and so on. Easy. Don’t believe me? Just watch any 5-year old do it. A typical 5-year old will sit down at the piano and play joyful rhythms. Then they’ll make up simple melodies with the white notes. Sometimes they … Read More

After watching the 1970’s classical/pop group ELO (Electric Light Orchestra) perform at the 2015 Grammy Awards, I was struck by how mechanized pop music has become over the past 40 years. Here’s just one aspect of this: Let’s say that a 1970’s recording had a string line behind the vocals during the chorus section. That string part … Read More

I hear from a lot of people who love to play piano but don’t have enough time to practice as much as they’d like. If you’re like this, you probably feel a little frustrated about not getting enough practice time and you may occasionally wonder “Is it worth it?” Well, from what I’ve seen with many people over … Read More

Even though “Sonata” form (or Sonata-allegro form) is the underlying structure of much great classical music, an understanding of it seems to elude many piano students. But it’s really quite simple, and if you understand the principle, a lot of great pieces will come alive for you in a new way. Read this story, which … Read More

For a lot of teen and adult piano players, the big question is: “I love piano, but should I take lessons?” This is an important question, and indeed, there were times in my own life when I took lessons and times when I didn’t. In my opinion, there are only 2 reasons to take piano … Read More

Most viewers of Super Bowl XLIX heard John Legend sing a rousing, heartfelt version of “America The Beautiful” right before the big game. But for piano players, he was really giving a lesson on how to personalize a song by altering certain chords and subtly highlighting various rhythmic styles. It’s true that Legend is a … Read More

What gift do you give people on birthdays and special occasions? These days, most of us go out and buy something or order online. There’s nothing wrong with that, of course, but in addition, why not surprise the person with a song? A song played on the piano, by you. (Yes, you!) Today is February … Read More

I bet there is someone who would really love to hear you play piano. Someone who just wants to relax and listen to some music. Someone who doesn’t care if you make mistakes. Someone who just wants to spend time with you and share a nice moment together. Why not invite them over? Get my … Read More

Like many American football fans, I enjoyed watching the great, amazing, wonderful John Legend play and sing his version of America The Beautiful at Super Bowl XLIX. Legend is truly a class act: relaxed yet focused, cool yet expressive, classic yet contemporary. I like his piano playing so much that I took a few minutes … Read More

Rote repetition isn’t just rote repetition. Let’s face the facts: to learn piano, we have to play things over and over. And then again some more. Sometimes mechanically. Much of today’s education tries to avoid what it considers to be “rote repetition,” but what does this really mean? I’ve been teaching piano for 30 years … Read More